The Saints improved to 9-2 with a 34-31 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday and a win in Atlanta would seal a third consecutive NFC South title, as well as avenging the shock loss they suffered to the Falcons in Week 10. While a playoff spot is little more than a formality for New Orleans—the 5-6 Panthers are its closest rivals in the division—extending the winning to three games would go some way towards consolidating their chances of earning a first-round bye....

The cornerback’s agent asked the Jaguars for trade following the team’s 13-12 loss to the Texans on Sunday, according to ESPN. Ramsey drew attention during the Week 2 matchup when he became visibly upset on the sidelines and had to be separated from coach Doug Marrone. When asked to comment on the altercation, Marrone said he couldn’t recall what led to the spat but he did say there was “a lot of emotion....

In the video, Winston seems to be traversing an imaginary pocket and avoiding contact with training dummies while keeping the ball high enough to where trainer Otis Leverette can’t knock it out of his grasp. Though it appeared a tad clumsy, Winston to his credit did not drop the ball once. MORE: Winston gives rousing speech at youth football camp, says he’s ‘outworking everybody’ It makes sense that Winston, the former No....

Of course, we all know that two straight weeks of ideal November weather means a bomb is going to drop at some point, be it this month or next, but we’ll worry about that when the time comes. With five games in stadiums with a roof (Panthers-Lions, Cowboys-Falcons, Titans-Colts, Eagles-Saints, Raiders-Cardinals) and three games in Florida (Steelers-Jaguars) or Southern California (Broncos-Chargers, Chiefs-Rams) – plus six teams on bye – the NFL schedule makers helped us out by putting minimal games in harm’s way....

For updated lines, visit our live odds board. Thursday, November 27 Bears at Lions -6.5, 47 The Westgate opened the early Thanksgiving game at Detroit -6, adjusting the spread up a half-point within a half-hour of posting it. The Wynn hung -7 (even). The Lions are in an against-the-spread funk, covering just one of their last five games. They return home after losing two in a row on the road....

As usual, I used BetQL’s features to inform my bets. Here are my favorite picks after going 2-1 last week! Week 2 DFS Lineups: FD Cash | FD GPP | DK Cash | DK GPP | Y! Cash | Y! GPP NFL Week 2 Betting Picks: Spread pick of the week All data presented is as of Friday morning. Bears (-2.5) at Broncos This game opened at even odds, but the line slightly moved in Chicago’s favor....

Through three weeks, the 2021 NFL rookie quarterback class looked extremely average at times. The kids took a big step forward in Week 4, with Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields and Mac Jones putting forth their best efforts. Elsewhere, Trey Lance and Davis Mills played about how well as you’d expect, given their situations. MORE: SN’s NFL power rankings heading into Week 5 Fields had the biggest mountain to climb coming off a poor starting debut in Week 3....

After consultation with Tom Brady, the NFL Players Association has dropped its appeal of Deflategate, the organization announced Sunday. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman ruled in September to vacate NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s four-game suspension of Brady for his alleged role in the deliberate deflation of footballs during the Jan. 18, 2015 game against the Colts. But the NFL appealed, won, and after Brady dropped another appeal in July, finally got its wish to suspend the quarterback....

The Bruins play-by-play man broke into song Tuesday night when a pair of heavyweights, Boston’s Tyler Randell and the Blues’ Ryan Reaves, squared off. It was a Christmas carol, of course. MORE: Fists are flying in these fights | Outrageous goalie fights Edwards’ timing was off — Reaves started swinging before the verse was finished — but he stayed pretty much on key. So there’s that. (Source: CBSSports.com)

The “Sniper” contest may fill easily based on increased demand. That has an $3 entry with $17,500 prize pool ($1,500 goes to first place). Also, there is the Fantasy Hockey World Championship qualifier, which has a $33 entry fee. Several good GPP’s are out there at a range of prices. Also of note, several games have an over/under of six from Las Vegas. Keep in mind, Vegas is not always right, as there’s always the possibility of higher-scoring matchups that could dud....

Realistically, expansion is likely at some point over the next few years. Four teams, not so much — but two teams would make sense. Stick one in Vegas and the other in Seattle, and you’ve got your 16-16 conference alignment. It’s the easiest option. Does that mean it’ll happen? No. Does that mean it should happen? Maybe not. MORE: What would you name a Las Vegas team? In any case, though, it’s worth taking a look at what an expansion draft would look like should it happen, say, tomorrow....

The NHL season is in full swing. We’re all questioning the Penguins after a “slow” start, the Oilers are puttering along and we’re hurtling toward a Stanley Cup Final featuring the Lightning and Blues. Well, we’re not hurtling. But that’s the danger of drawing your conclusions this early in the season. Yes, the standings are predictably a bit tighter than they were a week ago and the poor Golden Knights are on to another goaltender....

Nonetheless, the 2020 draft shouldn’t disappoint in either the intrigue or suspense department, regardless of which teams are doing the drafting. Based on the standings as of Feb. 27, the teams with the greatest odds to gain a top-three draft pick are Detroit, Los Angeles and Ottawa, in that order. What we can say with certainty, however, is that it’s been nine years since the lottery drawing rewarded the first three draft picks to the respective three worst teams in the league....

The Bruins forward speared Lightning defenseman Jake Dotchin in the groin in the final minute of the first period Tuesday. Dotchin, naturally, crumbled to the ice in pain. Marchand was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct. MORE: With playoffs nearing, who’s in line to win NHL awards? Enough with the league slapping Marchand on the wrist; for once, he needs to face severe consequences for his cheap shots....

Each week, AccuScore will update its 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs forecast by simulating the remainder of the NHL season 10,000 times to predict win totals, division winners and probabilities of reaching the playoffs on the road to the Stanley Cup. Below are the probabilities and Vegas odds of making the NHL playoffs and how they have changed. MORE: Tracking each team’s NHL Draft lottery odds AccuScore’s odds to make NHL playoffs Probability vs....

Enter Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson. The Swedes each scored a pair of goals to pace the Predators to victory in Monday’s Game 6, with Arvidsson’s tallies bookending Forsberg’s strikes. While the two players each contributed equally, Forsberg’s goals came with a “wow” factor his teammate couldn’t match. Forsberg entered Game 6 with five goals for the Predators in the current playoff run. The way his goals were scored on Monday couldn’t have been more different, with the 23-year-old relying on strength and perseverance to register his first of the night at 8:16 of the second period....

The Capitals winger delivered a hard hit on Carolina Hurricanes center Greg McKegg late in the first period of Washington’s 6-0 victory in Game 5. McKegg’s head appeared to make stiff contact with Wilson’s elbow and McKegg was temporarily forced out of the game. Wilson was not penalized for the hit, and McKegg returned to the game moments later, but given Wilson’s reputation as a physical player with a history of suspensions, any contact he makes with an opposing player goes under a microscope....

After electing to start Robin Lehner in net in Game 4 despite going 0-3 in the first three games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Lehner gave up three goals in the span of 25 minutes and found himself on the bench. Trotz called a timeout some five minutes into the second period and put in Thomas Greiss to take over in net for Lehner who is one of three Vezina Trophy finalists this season....

The first two rounds are complete in the 2022 NHL playoffs, and there were a number of strong individual performances. It’s still too early to determine who the Conn Smythe Trophy winner will be, but there are most certainly some frontrunners. Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Nikita Kucherov are showing out as the conference finals begin. Four teams remain, and those on the squads that are still alive have a chance at racking up more points on their way to a potential Stanley Cup....

Tampa Bay, currently second in the Eastern Conference, improved its defense at about 90 minutes after the official start of NHL trade deadline day, acquiring Braydon Coburn from the Flyers. Philadelphia’s return (courtesy of Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, who broke the deal): a first-round pick, a third-round pick and defenseman Radko Gudas. At the risk of damning him with faint praise, Coburn, 30, had been the Flyers’ best defenseman in 2014-15....